Rule of Thumb: A backup plugin should be the first thing you install immediately after installing your WordPress.
Here is why. Before embarking on the long journey of building your WordPress website, you are making it a priority to back up everything you do. That way, in the event of a crash, which can be caused by anything and can occur at any time, including the early stages, you won't lose your work. And, of course, you can restore your website.
There are different causes for website crashes, including:
- server crash
- plugin errors
- coding errors
- virus attack
- getting hacked
- forgetting to renew your domain name
- glitch on the side of the hosting company
- hosting company closing down
Whatever the reason, being prepared is the best remedy against losing your website content and data.
What Do Backup Plugins Backup?
In the event of a nuclear apocalypse, you want to be able to restart your website on Mars. If you paid extra to have your data and content backed up on a satellite that orbits the red planet, the backup plugin you used at the very minimum should back up the following:
- your database
- your uploads
- the WordPress core
- your themes
- your plugins
What to Look for in a Backup Plugin
Some of the ideal features to look at in any backup plugin are:
- secure storage because it will be saving your sensitive information
- off-site storage so that you keep your data safe when the server shuts down
- supports website migration should you need to do that
- ability to set up automatic backups and run at intervals you select
- can handle the size and scale of your website and not run slowly
- quick customer support when you need help regarding your backup plugin
If you want to learn how to back up your WordPress site, check out our post on the subject.
Best Backup Plugins for WordPress
There are many options for backup plugins. However, you will need one that tends best to the needs of your website. So in this post I've gathered some of the best WordPress backup plugin options for you to check out.
1. UpdraftPlus
UpdraftPlus ranks in the top 30 out of over 50,000 WordPress plugins. This makes it one of the most trusted WordPress backup plugins. Here is why: in just a few clicks you can set it up and secure your WordPress website.
It supports manual or automatic backup. For automated backups, you can choose your own schedule. It could be every 4, 8, or 12 hours, or even daily, weekly, or monthly. It uses notifications to alert you of upcoming backups.
Because backing up a huge website strains server resources and can even cause it to crash, you can take a piecemeal approach by setting up incremental backups. This way, you can separately back up parts of the website at different times.
The best feature of UpdraftPlus is that it lets you store your files in various destinations like Google Drive, Dropbox, and Google Cloud Storage. This allows you to easily choose where you want your backup files to be.
UpdraftPlus is compatible with WordPress network and multisite.
2. Jetpack
Jetpack is built by WordPress. It has a very simple, easy-to-use interface. It backs up your website in real time. You can do full, incremental, or differential backups. In case something goes wonky, you can easily restore your website in one click, even if your website is offline. You can also restore it from the Jetpack mobile app.
Jetpack is also tightly compatible with WooCommerce. You can restore your eCommerce website to any past state while your customer order and data remain current. It allows custom WooCommerce table backups.
One thing I like about Jetpack is how easy it is to make changes within your website safely. If you are working on your website and it crashes out of nowhere, you can always undo the error and restore your website safely and easily.
Finally, this WordPress plugin removes spam comments. You don't need to be near your laptop to run Jetpack. Through the mobile app you can also handle backups and scan your website for malware.
3. Super Backup and Clone: Migrate for WordPress
The Super Backup and Clone plugin makes it easy to back up all your WordPress and non-WordPress files to your server or to the cloud.
The plugin works with any custom theme. The interface of this plugin is very user-friendly, allowing you to do most of the tasks with just one click. Moreover, it lets you set up email notifications for reminders of backup tasks that need to be taken care of.
You can create automatic backup schedules. You can check your backup logs, and you can choose to save various versions of your backup, in case you need them in the future.
The plugin also allows you to do migrations: You can do:
- multisite to multisite migration
- multisite to single site migration
- single site to multisite migration
You can back up to your local server or to external cloud destinations like Google Drive, Amazon S3, OneDrive, Dropbox, Rackspace, FTP, SFTP, and more.
4. BackupBuddy
BackupBuddy is one of the most widely used backup plugins for WordPress. It does have a free version, but to make the most use of it, you will need to buy a subscription—which can be very pricey.
As of the time of writing, it has three subscription options: $80 for bloggers, $127 for freelancers, and $199 for a Gold subscription. Moreover, it charges extra for storage space if your website takes up more than 1GB.
Apart from safely backing up your website, BackupBuddy does malware scans to keep your website protected at all times. As for backups, this plugin lets you schedule your backups, secure the backups on the cloud, and migrate and restore your website.
The only downside of investing in this backup plugin is that it does not offer quick help—you will have to rely on emails if you need their support, which might not be enough if you need assistance immediately.
5. BlogVault
BlogVault is trusted by a lot of people because of how reliable this backup plugin is. It does incremental backups to save your server from crashing and gives you support with multi-site backups. BlogVault is also quick to migrate and restore your website without any interruptions. Moreover, it allows you to restore your website even when you are offline.
One of the great features of BlogVault is that you can handle multiple sites with this one backup plugin, and it also allows team members on board in case you need to communicate with them. Other than that, this backup plugin for WordPress is great for backing up and keeping your WooCommerce websites safe.
However, it can be a bit expensive for a plugin as its basic annual subscription costs $89, and this can go as high as $249 if you need to use more of its features.
Get Your WordPress Website a Backup Plugin
Yes, you need to protect that investment. I mean, you cannot build your whole brand or business in one place and not guard it.
If you have no budget or only a small budget, UpdraftPlus is your best free option out there. For low-cost plugins, you can opt for Super Backup and Clone or Jetpack.
Now, it's time for you to go through each of these options and decide which backup plugin best suits the needs of your WordPress website.
